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65-661: The quarries were discovered by Caius Cominus Leugas in AD 18. Their exploitation can be traced by hundreds of ostraca from not long after until the 430s. They were accessible only by means of a circuitous branch of the road between Caene on the Nile and the Roman fort on the Red Sea coast (today Abu Sha'ar ). The actual quarries were spread out over 9 square kilometres (3.5 sq mi). There were five dispersed villages for workers and

130-401: A "scorpion charmer" who specialized in magical cures for scorpion bites. Health texts from Deir el-Medina also differed in their circulation. Magical spells and remedies were widely distributed among the workmen; there are even several cases of spells being sent from one worker to another, with no "trained" intermediary. Written medical texts appear to have been much rarer, however, with only

195-444: A central complex at Wadi Abu Ma'amel 630 metres (2,070 ft) above sea level . The highest quarries were at Rammius at 1,438 metres (4,718 ft). Quarried stone had to be dropped down slipways to the wadi below. The central complex had a workers' settlement, a fort , temples to Sarapis and Isis Megiste , a bath with a hypocaust and a cemetery. The temple of Isis can be dated to 113 and that of Sarapis to 117–119. There

260-419: A convenient medium to write on for a wide variety of purposes, mostly very short inscriptions, but in some cases very long. In Classical Athens , when the decision at hand was to banish or exile a certain member of society, citizen peers would cast their vote by writing the name of the person on the shard of pottery; the vote was counted and, if unfavorable, the person was exiled for a period of ten years from

325-482: A deeply compelling view into the medical workings of the New Kingdom. As in other Egyptian communities, the workmen and inhabitants of Deir el-Medina received care for their health problems through medical treatment , prayer , and magic . Nevertheless, the records at Deir el-Medina indicate some level of division, as records from the village note both a " physician " who saw patients and prescribed treatments, and

390-434: A foreman, deputies, craftsmen and a court scribe, and were authorised to deal with all civil and some criminal cases, typically relating to the non-payment of goods or services. The villagers represented themselves and cases could go on for several years, with one dispute involving the chief of police lasting eleven years. The local police, Medjay , were responsible for preserving law and order, as well as controlling access to

455-406: A god for forgiveness and mercy. In one instance Meretseger is petitioned to bring relief to one in pain. She answer the prayer by bringing "sweet breezes". On another stele, a workman writes, "I was a man who swore falsely by Ptah, Lord of Truth, and he caused me to see darkness by day. Now I will declaim his might to both the ignorant and the knowledgeable." Amun was considered a special patron of

520-673: A handful of ostraca containing prescriptions , indicating that the trained physician mixed the more complicated remedies himself. There are also several documents that show the writer sending for medical ingredients, but it is unknown whether these were sent according to a physician's prescription, or to fulfill a home remedy . The excavations of the royal artisans community at Deir el-Medina have revealed much evidence of personal religious practice and cults. State gods were worshipped freely alongside personal gods without any conflict between national and local modes of religious expression. The community had between sixteen and eighteen chapels, with

585-515: A lighter colour, were most common. Ostraca were typically small, covered with just a few words or a small picture drawn in ink; but the tomb of the craftsman Sennedjem at Deir el Medina contained an enormous ostracon inscribed with the Story of Sinuhe . The importance of ostraca for Egyptology is immense. The combination of their physical nature and the Egyptian climate have preserved texts, from

650-453: A stylish celebration. The working week was eight days followed by two days holiday, though the six days off a month could be supplemented frequently due to illness, family reasons and, as recorded by the scribe of the tomb, arguing with one's wife or having a hangover. Including the days given over to festivals, over one-third of the year was time-off for the villagers during the reign of Merneptah (c. 1213–1203 BCE). During their days off

715-511: A tomb through its back so that they wouldn't break the seal and be exposed. A tomb robbery culture developed that included fences and even some officials who accepted bribes. When the Viziers checked the tombs in order to determine whether the seals had been disturbed, they wouldn't report the tomb as having been opened. When they finally did catch tomb robbers, they used limb-twisting tactics to interrogate them and obtain information about where

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780-425: A total area of 5,600 m with a narrow road running the length of the village. The main road through the village may have been covered to shelter the villagers from the intense glare and heat of the sun. The size of the habitations varied, with an average floor space of 70 m , but the same construction methods were used throughout the village. Walls were made of mudbrick, built on top of stone foundations. Mud

845-543: A whole day in anger, His wrath passes in a moment, none remains. His breath comes back to us in mercy... May your ka be kind, may you forgive, It shall not happen again. Dream interpretation was very common. A book of dreams was found in Scribe Kenhirkhopeshef's library that was old even in his time. This book was used to interpret various types of dreams. These interpretations lacked precision and similar dreams often had different meanings. In many cases

910-412: Is a piece of pottery , usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeological or epigraphical context, ostraca refer to sherds or even small pieces of stone that have writing scratched into them. Usually these are considered to have been broken off before the writing was added; ancient people used the cheap, plentiful, and durable broken pieces of pottery around them as

975-683: Is an ancient Egyptian workmen's village which was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the 18th to 20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom of Egypt (ca. 1550–1080 BCE). The settlement's ancient name was Set maat ("Place of Truth"), and the workmen who lived there were called "Servants in the Place of Truth". During the Christian era, the temple of Hathor

1040-451: Is evidence for blacksmithing in the workers' area. A second temple to Isis Myrionyma, dating to 137–138, lay on the other side of the wadi . The central complex had two wells and large cistern for water storage in the fort. The earliest settlement, where an inscription of Cominus Leugas is found, contains a temple to Pan . Several of the villages were only occupied into the 2nd century, but there are later tombstones, pottery and coins from

1105-402: Is not thought to have provided a pleasant environment. The walled village reflects the shape of the narrow valley in which it's situated, with the barren surrounding hillsides reflecting the desert sun and the hill of Gurnet Murai cutting off the north breeze, as well as any view of the verdant river valley. The village was abandoned c. 1110–1080 BCE during the reign of Ramesses XI (whose tomb

1170-409: Is now thought that about half of the papyri recovered were removed without the knowledge or authorization of the team director. Around five thousand ostraca of assorted works of commerce and literature were found in a well close to the village. Jaroslav Černý , who was part of Bruyère's team, went on to study the village for almost fifty years until his death in 1970 and was able to name and describe

1235-452: Is recorded as wanting a divorce on account of his mother in-law's behaviour. Female slaves could become surrogate mothers in cases where the wife was infertile and in doing so raise their status and procure their freedom. The community could move freely in and out of the walled village but for security reasons the only outsiders allowed to enter the site were those with good work-related reasons. The records from this village provide most of

1300-402: Is unknown whether these were sent according to a physician's prescription, or to fulfill a home remedy . Six people were assigned to Deir el-Medina as "water carriers" who were tasked to bring sacks of water to the village. Having a system in between a central cistern and door to door deliveries, the water carriers filled sacks and delivered them from the floodplain to a central location in

1365-507: The Valley of the Kings to the north, funerary temples to the east and south-east, with the Valley of the Queens to the west. The village may have been built apart from the wider population in order to preserve secrecy in view of sensitive nature of the work carried out in the tombs. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site . A significant find of papyri was made in the 1840s in the vicinity of

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1430-435: The accused would deny guilt and demand to see another oracle or, in at least one case when that failed, he asked to see a third. When guilt was determined, a judgement would be passed and the accused would have to make reparations and receive punishment. The Egyptians also believed the oracle could bring disease or blindness to people as punishment or miracle cures as rewards. The records and ostraca from Deir el-Medina provide

1495-427: The artisans are recorded forty and fifty years after the initial dispute, during the reigns of Ramesses IX and Ramesses X . After the reign of Ramses IV (c. 1155–1149 BCE) the conditions of the village became increasingly unsettled. At times there was no work for fear of the enemy. The grain supplies became less dependable and this was followed by more strikes. Gangs of tomb robbers increased, often tunnelling into

1560-513: The background to workers unrest. In about the 25th year of the reign of Ramesses III (c. 1170 BCE) the tomb laborers were so exasperated by delays in supplies that they threw down their tools and walked off the job in what may have been the first sit-down strike action in recorded history. They wrote a letter to the vizier complaining about lack of wheat rations. Village leaders attempted to reason with them but they refused to return to work until their grievances were addressed. They responded to

1625-464: The citizens of Deir el-Medina attempted to dig a well, presumably due to their displacement toward the water carriers, but to no avail. The first attempt was during the fifteenth year of Ramesses III where a hole was dug twenty two meters into the ground, but with no luck. Before digging another, they established the water table sat at thirty one and a half meters, and in a desperate attempt they dug twenty meters past that, to fifty two meters, but again it

1690-663: The city, thus giving rise to the term ostracism . Broken pottery shards were also used for anal hygiene . Scholars have suggested that shards from a vote may have been re-used for this purpose, to curse the exiled individual by soiling their name. Anything with a smooth surface could be used as a writing surface. Generally discarded material, ostraca were cheap, readily available, and therefore frequently used for writings of an ephemeral nature such as messages, prescriptions, receipts, students' exercises, and notes. Pottery sherds, limestone flakes, and thin fragments of other stone types were used, but limestone sherds, being flaky and of

1755-442: The elders with "great oaths". "We are hungry", the crews claimed; "eighteen days have passed this month" and they still had not received their rations. They were forced to buy their own wheat. They told the leaders to send to the pharaoh or vizier to address their concerns. After the authorities had heard their complaints they addressed them and the workers went back to work the next day. Several strikes followed. After one of them, when

1820-400: The extensive catacombs of animal mummies were uncovered. Apparently it was a pilgrimage site, with as many as 1½ million ibis birds interred (as well as cats, dogs, rams, and lions). This 2nd-century BC site contained extensive pottery debris from the site offerings of the pilgrims. Emery's excavations uncovered the "Dream Ostraca", created by a scribe named Hor of Sebennytos. A devotee of

1885-531: The god Thoth , he lived adjacent to Thoth's sanctuary at the entrance to the North Catacomb and worked as a "proto-therapist", advising and comforting clients. He transferred his divinely-inspired dreams onto ostraca. The Dream Ostraca are 65 Demotic texts written on pottery and limestone. Famous ostraca for Biblical archaeology have been found at: Additionally, the lots drawn at Masada are believed to have been ostraca, and some potsherds resembling

1950-621: The great god of the dead. The villagers held Amenhotep I (c. 1526–1506 BCE) and his mother, Queen Ahmose-Nefertari , in high regard over many generations, possibly as divinized patrons of the community. When Amenhotep died he became the centre of a village funerary cult, as "Amenhotep of the Town". When the Queen died, she also was deified and became "Mistress of the Sky" and "Lady of the West". Every year

2015-560: The higher quarries. A tower at the central complex allowed for visual communication with even the most distant posts. Besides the main fort, there were also fortlets at Badia, Umm Sidri and Belia. Mons Porphyrites produced black porphyry as well as the imperial porphyry for which it is most famous. The latter was used in Rome and Constantinople for decorative purposes, especially in imperial sarcophagi. Ostraca An ostracon ( Greek : ὄστρακον ostrakon , plural ὄστρακα ostraka )

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2080-424: The image of the god when carried by priests upon a litter. A positive response could have been indicated by a downward dip and a negative response by a withdrawal of the litter. When a matter of justice came up that wasn't resolved by a tribunal, the god's statue could be carried to the accused and asked "Is it he who stole my goods?" and, if the statue nodded, the accused would be considered guilty. However, at times,

2145-428: The information we know about how women lived in the New Kingdom era. Women were supplied with servants by the government to assist with the grinding of the grain and laundry tasks. The wives of the workers cared for the children and baked the bread, a prime food source in this society. The vast majority of women who had a particular religious status embedded in their names were married to foremen or scribes and could hold

2210-655: The inscription to be about 1,000 years older than the Dead Sea Scrolls . The inscription has yet to be deciphered, however, some words, such as king, slave, and judge have been translated. The sherd was found about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem at the Elah Fortress in Khirbet Qeiyafa , the earliest known fortified city of the biblical period of Israel. Deir el-Medina Deir el-Medina ( Egyptian Arabic : دير المدينة ), or Dayr al-Madīnah ,

2275-476: The interpretation was the opposite of what the dream depicted, for example a happy dream often signified sadness, a dream of plenty often signified scarceness etc. Examples of how the dreams are interpreted include the following: Also in the temple to Hathor, a few of the craftsmen built stelae in honour of her. One such stela is the stele of Nefersenut, in which he and one of his son's kneeling and giving offerings to her in human form. The royal building service

2340-435: The larger ones dedicated to Hathor , Ptah and Ramesses II . The workmen seem to have honoured Ptah and Resheph , the scribes Thoth and Seshat , as patron deities of their particular activity. Women had particular devotion towards Hathor, Taweret , and Bes in pregnancy, turning to Renenutet and Meretseger for food and safety. Meretseger ("She Who Loves Silence") was perhaps locally at least as important as Osiris ,

2405-467: The lives of many of the inhabitants. The peak overlooking the village was renamed "Mont Cernabru" in recognition of Černý and Bruyère's work on the village. The first datable remains of the village belong to the reign of Thutmose I (c. 1506–1493 BCE) with its final shape being formed during the Ramesside Period . At its peak, the community contained around sixty-eight houses spread over

2470-542: The lots have been found. In October 2008, Israeli archaeologist, Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem , discovered what he says to be the earliest known Hebrew text. This text was written on an ostracon sherd; Garfinkel believes this sherd dates to the time of King David from the Old Testament, about 3,000 years ago. Carbon dating of the ostracon and analysis of the pottery have dated

2535-615: The medical to the mundane, which in other cultures were lost. These can often serve as better witnesses of everyday life than literary treatises preserved in libraries. The 91 ostraca found at Deir el-Medina provide a deeply compelling view into the inner workings of the New Kingdom . These ostraca have shown medical, and documentary records, some of which provide information on how water was provided, and how economic transactions were carried out. The extreme variety of information on ostraca found presents information that would be lost if it weren't written down. Like other Egyptian communities,

2600-455: The most thoroughly documented accounts of community life in the ancient world that spans almost four hundred years. There is no comparable site in which the organisation, social interactions, working and living conditions of a community can be studied in such detail. The site is located on the west bank of the Nile , across the river from modern-day Luxor . The village is laid out in a small natural amphitheatre, within easy walking distance of

2665-504: The plunder was and who their accomplices were. The Abbott Papyrus reports on one occasion, when some officials were looking for a scapegoat, they obtained a confession from a repeat offender after torturing him. However the Vizier was suspicious at how easily the suspect had been produced, so the Vizier asked the suspect to lead them to the tomb that he had robbed. He led them to an unfinished tomb that had never been used and claimed that it

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2730-458: The poor and one who was merciful to the penitent. A stelae records: [Amun] who comes at the voice of the poor in distress, who gives breath to him who is wretched..You are Amun, the Lord of the silent, who comes at the voice of the poor, when I call to you in my distress You come and rescue me... Though the servant was disposed to do evil, the Lord is disposed to forgive. The Lord of Thebes spends not

2795-464: The posts being inheritable. The examples of love songs recovered show how friendship between the sexes was practised, as was social drinking by both men and women. Egyptian marriages amongst commoners were monogamous but little is known about the marriage or wedding arrangements from surviving records. It was not unusual for couples to have six or seven children, with some recorded as having ten. Separation, divorce and remarriage occurred. Merymaat

2860-403: The strike leader asked the workers to follow him they told him they had had enough and returned to work. This was not the last strike but they soon restored the regular wheat supplies and the strikes came to an end for the remaining years of Ramesses III. However, since the chiefs supported the authorities the workers no longer trusted them and chose their own representatives. Further complaints by

2925-417: The titles of chantress or singer, with official positions within local shrines or temples, perhaps even within the major temples of Thebes. Under Egyptian law they had property rights. They had title to their own wealth and a third of all marital goods. This would belong solely to the wife in case of divorce or death of the husband. If she died first it would go to her heirs, not to her spouse. Brewing of beer

2990-478: The tombs in the Valley of the Kings. One of the most famous cases recorded relates to Paneb , the son of an overseer, who was accused of looting royal tombs, adultery and causing unrest in the community. The outcome is not known but surviving records indicate the execution of a head of workmen at this time. The people of Deir el-Medina often consulted with oracles about many aspects of their lives including justice. Questions could be put in writing or orally before

3055-556: The trade and whether the items presented were needed. Conveniently, most ostraca found in Deir el-Medina were on economics and provide information on what these trades looked like. One such ostracon details a trade with one side offering an ox that was 120 Deben and the other offering two jars of fat, five smooth cloth tunics, one thin cloth kilt, and one hide which when put altogether were 130 Deben. From 1964 to 1971, Bryan Emery excavated at Saqqara in search of Imhotep 's tomb; instead,

3120-465: The village and its work. As the main well was thirty minutes walk from the village, carriers worked to keep the village regularly supplied with water. When working on the tombs, the artisans stayed overnight in a camp overlooking the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut (c. 1479–1458 BCE) that is still visible today. Surviving records indicate that the workers had cooked meals delivered to them from

3185-400: The village and many objects were also found during the course of the 19th century. The archaeological site was first seriously excavated by Ernesto Schiaparelli between 1905 and 1909 which uncovered large amounts of ostraca . A French team directed by Bernard Bruyère excavated the entire site, including village, dump and cemetery, between 1922 and 1951. Unfortunately through lack of control it

3250-525: The village where each household could receive a quarter to a half of a sack which would amount to ninety six to one hundred and fifteen liters of water per house. The typical household would have six residents, each would get fifteen to twenty liters of water for drinking. One ostracon describes how many of these deliveries were unfulfilled, where five people's rations were undelivered, totaling to four and three quarters sacks or three hundred and seventy five liters of water gone undelivered. On multiple occasions,

3315-406: The village. Based on analysis of income and prices, the workmen of the village would, in modern terms, be considered middle class . As salaried state employees they were paid in rations at up to three times the rate of a field hand, but unofficial second jobs were also widely practiced. At great festivals such as the heb sed the workmen were issued with extra supplies of food and drink to allow

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3380-670: The villagers celebrated the Festival of Amenhotep I, where the elders acted as priests in the ceremonies that paid honour to their own local gods who were not worshipped anywhere else in Egypt. Prayers were made and dedicated to a particular deity as votive offerings, similar in style to the Penitential Psalms in the Tanakh , which express remorse and thanksgiving for mercy. Steles record sorrow for human error and humbly invoke

3445-514: The villagers. The ancient economy is documented by records of sales transactions that yield information on prices and exchange. Records of prayers and charms illustrate ordinary popular conceptions of the divine, whilst researchers into ancient law and practice find a rich source of information recorded in the texts from the village. Many examples of the most famous works of ancient Egyptian literature have also been discovered. Thousands of papyri and ostraca still await publication. The settlement

3510-513: The workmen and inhabitants of Deir el-Medina received care through a combination of medical treatment , prayer , and magic . Nevertheless, the records at Deir el-Medina indicate some level of division, as records from the village note both a “ physician ” who saw patients and prescribed treatments, and a “scorpion charmer” who specialized in magical cures for scorpion stings. The ostraca from Deir el-Medina also differed in their circulation. Magical spells and remedies were widely distributed among

3575-480: The workmen could work on their own tombs, and since they were amongst the best craftsmen in Ancient Egypt who excavated and decorated royal tombs, their own tombs are considered to be some of the most beautiful on the west bank. A large proportion of the community, including women, could at least read and possibly write. The jobs of the workers would have been considered desirable and prized positions, with

3640-415: The workmen; there are even several cases of spells being sent from one worker to another, with no “trained” intermediary. Written medical texts appear to have been much rarer, with only a handful of ostraca containing prescriptions , indicating that the trained physician mixed the more complicated remedies himself. There are also several documents that show the writer sending for medical ingredients, but it

3705-403: Was applied to the walls, which were then painted white on the external surfaces, while some of the inner surfaces were whitewashed up to a height of around one metre. A wooden front door might have carried the occupants' name. Houses consisted of four to five rooms, comprising an entrance, main room, two smaller rooms, kitchen with cellar and staircase leading to the roof. The full glare of the sun

3770-404: Was avoided by situating the windows high up on the walls. The main room contained a mudbrick platform with steps which may have been used as a shrine or a birthing bed. Nearly all houses contained niches for statues and small altars. The tombs built by the community for their own use include small rock-cut chapels and substructures adorned with small pyramids . Due to its location, the village

3835-643: Was converted into a Monastery of Saint Isidorus the Martyr ( Coptic : ⲡⲧⲟⲡⲟⲥ ⲙ̄ⲫⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲡⲁ ⲓⲥⲓⲇⲱⲣⲟⲥ ⲡⲙⲁⲣⲧⲉⲣⲟⲥ ) from which the Egyptian Arabic name Deir el-Medina ("Monastery of the City") is derived. At the time when the world's press was concentrating on Howard Carter 's discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, a team led by Bernard Bruyère began to excavate the site. This work has resulted in one of

3900-406: Was futile. With no water in the well, it was used as a dump where hundreds more ostraca were found. Economics were unique in Deir el-Medina as transactions between people were closer to trades than modern transactions. Actual money would rarely change hands, as it was more of a measure of worth for an object and when making a deal, trades between people would consider both the worth of each ends of

3965-432: Was home to a mixed population of Egyptians, Nubians and Asiatics who were employed as labourers, (stone-cutters, plasterers, water-carriers), as well as those involved in the administration and decoration of the royal tombs and temples. The artisans and the village were organised into two groups, left and right gangs who worked on opposite sides of the tomb walls similar to a ship's crew, with a foreman for each who supervised

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4030-533: Was normally supervised by the Mistress of the House , though the workmen considered the monitoring of the activity as a legitimate excuse for taking time off work. The workers and their families were not slaves but free citizens with recourse to the justice system, as required. In principle, any Egyptian could petition the vizier and could demand a trial by his peers. The community had its own court of law made up of

4095-481: Was the last of the royal tombs built in the Valley of the Kings) due to increasing threats from tomb robbery, Libyan raids and the instability of civil war. The Ptolemids later built a temple to Hathor on the site of an ancient shrine dedicated to her. The surviving texts record the events of daily life rather than major historical incidents. Personal letters reveal much about the social relations and family life of

4160-521: Was the tomb of Isis . When they retrieved the plunder, they didn't return it to the tombs; instead, they added it to the treasury. The French Egyptologist and author Christian Jacq has written a tetralogy dealing with Deir el-Medina and its artisans, as well as Egyptian political life at the time. Deir el-Medina is also mentioned in some of the later books of the Amelia Peabody series by Barbara Mertz (writing as Elizabeth Peters). The village

4225-486: Was usually well-run, in view of the importance of the work it carried out. Paying proper wages was a religious duty that formed an intrinsic part of Maat . When this system broke down it indicated problems in the wider state. The coming of the Iron Age and the collapse of the empire led to economic instability, with inflation a notable feature. The high ideals expressed in the code of Maat became strained and this provided

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